The Driller Killer

Horrorphile

E-mail Subscription

Receive an e-mail notification of new posts on this site:

Vimu Subscription

Horrorphile - September 2007

The Driller Killer

September 19th 2007 00:32

Director Abel Ferrara is a man exorcising his demons. He’s been doing it through most of his film career, with several high points (King of New York, Bad Lieutenant, The Addiction and The Funeral) and some rather low points (Dangerous Game, The Blackout and New Rose Hotel). The Driller Killer (1979), his second feature (he made a rarely seen adult movie first up in 1977), put him straight on the infamous map when it was made a scapegoat for the UK Video Nasty crusade during the mid-80s.

The title alone was enough to upset conservative parents, but the VHS cover art which depicted the movie’s most graphic moment (ironically more appalling in concept rather than execution), a screaming man having a power drill driven into his forehead, sealed its fate. Along with dozens of other, mostly horror movie titles, The Driller Killer was banned in the UK for a decade or more. The problem was many of these titles were actually intelligently made movies, some even seminal horror movies, and they were all thrown into the some bucket.

The Driller Killer isn’t a brilliant film, it’s not even very good, but it’s very interesting nevertheless. Unintentionally Ferrara made a black comedy. Well, that’s how I interpreted it after finally watching the movie so many years after first learning of its notoriety. It’s a dark, unctuous little art-urban-horror; a case study about one man’s rapid descent into paranoia, misanthropy, madness and the violence he must inflict, upon mostly derelicts, in order to purge the disgust and rage that quells within him.

Jimmy Laine/Abel Ferrara as Reno

Reno (Abel Ferrara under the pseudonym Jimmy Laine) is a poor NYC painter living in a strange unbalanced three-way with his girlfriend Carol (Carolyn Marz) and her spaced-out lesbian lover Pamela (Baybi Day). They struggle to pay rent, often bitch and moan to each other, and occasionally go out to a punk-rock gig. In fact one of these bands, Tony Coca-Cola and The Roosters, is rehearsing day and night in an adjacent apartment, steadily driving Reno up the wall.

When Reno sees a late night ad on TV for a new portable power pack his fevered mind changes gears, and the driller killer is born. Now the city shall pay for his frustration and dissatisfaction. But it’s the city’s homeless and disaffected who are at the receiving end of Reno’s unconventional gun. Until the end of the movie when arrogant art agent and long-suffering girlfriends fall prey.

So many art agents, so little time

Ferrara is definitely making a statement of sorts (I believe the screenplay is Ferrara under another alias: Nicholas St. John); however it’s a very bitter and twisted one indeed. Grim and obnoxious The Driller Killer leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth, but is not quite the disturbing attack on the sensibilities I was preparing myself for, which brings me back to the idea that the movie is actually more of a black comedy in disguise.

Watching Reno running amok in the city’s back streets with a large power drill, thrusting it here and there is a morbidly funny sight. Especially with Reno’s serious expression and the synthesized music stabbing away. But even funnier is the “sub-plot” of the punk band plugging away with their junkie entourage and one derelict in particular (Peter Yellan) at a bus stop who seems more like a weird stand-up comic. With frequent footage of the band rehearsing and in a club with audience The Driller Killer becomes a kind of date stamp, a curiosity of the late 70s New York new waves/punk-rock fashion scene.

Reno paints the town red in his mind

The movie looks to have been shot on 16mm using available light (much of the exterior night scenes are very dark) with Ferrara staging many scenes with a pseudo-cinema verite sensibility. There is extensive use of the colour red, not so much with blood, but with coloured filters, he even has the entire screen go to red for two moments in the film, the second time being the movie’s final couple of minutes, leaving just the audio (his girlfriend’s voice). Yes, it seems Ferrara was making an art movie for the horror circuit. He even makes a specific director’s demand; a pre-title credit card reads “THIS MOVIE SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD”.

The Driller Killer suggests a movie of extreme violence, but is actually rather tame compared to many other horror movies before and after. It’s a disquieting film, but an intriguing and auspicious first feature (if you disregard the porn) littered with themes of contempt and confusion, morality and corruption, and a time capsule of spiked indulgence.

Here's an original teaser trailer:

Not surprisingly movie is being remade. Asia Argento was tipped to direct re-setting the movie in Italy with Ferrara producing, but it is now being directed by young Welshman Andrew Jones with a release date sometime next year.

Vote

Subscribe to this blog

Email this post to a friend

Go to the Orble Film Channel

Start your own blog

[ Link ]

Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

Related Posts:

Relate This Post

[ Previous - Imprint ]

[ Next - POSTER GALLERY 5 ]

Comments

6 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Damo

September 19th 2007 03:39

For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics

Um, Um,Um?
Not sure that I can take my wife to see this one and still have a stable relationship afterwards.

She'd be asking me, "You have put the drill away, haven't you?"

If she finds it under the bed then I would have domestic trouble for a month.

Good review.

Comment by Cibbuano

September 19th 2007 04:11

20/20 Filmsight
Science News
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak

unintentional black comedy, eh? That's a happy accident.

I'm interested in that rare adult feature, Nine Lives of a Wet Pussy? I looked it up on IMDb...

Comment by KylieW

September 19th 2007 07:03

Celebrity Obsession

Gee what a shock that it's being remade!!

I'll never look at a handyman with a drill the same way again!

Comment by Bryn

September 19th 2007 07:38

Horrorphile

Damo, keep this one away from the other half.

Cibby, trust you to look up the adult feature ... I was gonna mention the title, but somehow it seemed, err, incongruous ... lol\

Kylie, yeah, I only discovered it was being made as I was finishing my review and was checking actors names ... sigh, are there no limits to Hollywood?!

Comment by D. Armenta

September 19th 2007 23:16

The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan
L.A.M.P.

Hi Bryn!

Hahaha, nope! There are no limits to Hollywood. Just the thought of someone running around with a power drill --and being serious--cracks me up.

I'm guessing it was a cordless drill? Probably ran out of juice within 5 minutes! It's either that or a really long extension cord...

Comment by Bryn

September 20th 2007 00:29

Horrorphile

Armenta .... portable power pack (big battery) ...Still really silly.

[ Previous - Imprint ]

[ Next - POSTER GALLERY 5 ]

Add A Comment

To create a fully formatted comment please click here.

CLICK HERE TO LOGIN | CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Name or Orble Tag

Home Page (optional)

Comments

Notify me of replies

Notify extra people about this comment

Is this a private comment?

List the Email Addresses or Orble Tags of the people you would like to be notified about this comment

One per line max of 30

List the Email Addresses or Orble Tags of the people you would like to be notified about this private comment thread. Only the people in this list will be able to see or reply to your comment.

One per line max of 30

Your Name
(for the email going out to the above list, it can be different to your Orble Tag)

Your Email Address

(optional)

(required for reply notification)

Submit

January 2009

2 Posts

December 2008

13 Posts

November 2008

7 Posts